To listen to this article, please select Control + Shift + Z to launch the pop-up player.

A-Z Animals - Animal Facts, Images and Resources

Animals >>

Porcupine

Add to Phobia Filter

Contribute

Listen

The porcupine is one of the worlds largest rodents, with porcupines weighing around 12 kg. The porcupine is thought to be from the same family as the hedgehog but the DNA of the porcupine is not as old as that of the hedgehog.

The porcupine is found inhabiting the forests and jungles of Asia, Europe, parts of Africa, and both North and South America. The porcupine feeds on insects and occasionally small reptiles and eggs.

Like its ancestor the hedgehog, the porcupine has a coat of long spikes to protect itself from danger. The porcupine spikes are much longer than those of the hedgehog, with the spikes from a porcupine often containing poison.

There are nearly 30 different species of porcupine found in their native habitats around the world. The porcupine can vary in size from a tiny 1 kg porcupine in South America to the enormous 10 kg porcupine in Africa. Porcupines tend to be brown and grey in colour, but some of the rarer porcupine species can be found in white.

The sharp, needle-like quills of the porcupine are about 7 cm long and can be detached very easily. The attacker of a porcupine can easily end up with sharp quills in their skin which are venomous and very difficult (not to mention painful) to extract. It has been known for large predators be die as a result of the quills of the porcupine, generally from infection.

Porcupines are very vocal during mating season and the gestation period is about 7 months, when only one porcupine pup is born. Newborn porcupine pups weigh around 450 g and are about 25 cm (10 inches) long. The young porcupines are born with fully functional quills and the porcupine pup will stay with its mother for about 6 months.

Porcupine Comments (5)

Isaac

"AMAZING SITE!!!! we should have more helpful sites like this!"

lalu prasad

"nice"

Anonymous

" this is cool"

Showing 3 of 5 comments.

Show More Comments

Post Comment

Article Tools

	Print Article View printer friendly version of Porcupine article.
	Listen to Article Listen to audio version of Porcupine article. Hot key: + +

Porcupine Facts

Kingdom: A level of classifying all living things on earth, as similar species are broken into 5 groups including plants, animals and fungi....	Animalia
Phylum: A level of classifying animals within the animal kingdom. Phylum are further divided into subgroups called classes....	Chordata
Class: A level of classifying animals in a phylum. Classes are then sub-divided into further groups known as orders....	Mammalia
Order: A level used to classify animals. Classes are broken into sub-groups known as order, which are broken down further into families....	Rodentia
Family: A level of classifying animals within an order. Orders are broken down in families and families are broken down further into smaller groups called genus....	Erethizontidae
Genus: A level of classifying animals within a family. Families are divided into sub-groups called genus which generally contain one or two animal species....	Erethizon

Scientific Name:	Erethizon Dorsaum
Type:	Mammal
Diet:	Omnivore
Size:	50-90cm (20-35in)
Weight:	5.4-16kg (12-35lbs)
Top Speed:	3km/h (2mph)
Life Span:	8-12 years
Lifestyle:	Solitary
Conservation Status: The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation s...	Least Concern

Colour:	Brown, Grey, Black, Yellow
Skin Type:	Spikes
Favourite Food:	Roots
Habitat: The term habitat is used to describe a specific area where a particular animal lives, within an environment. Many animals have adapted to requiring specific conditions which can only be found in their natural habitat su...	Dense forests and grassland
Average Litter Size:	1
Main Prey: When an animal is referred to prey, it means that the animal is either hunted or caught for food. Animals that are referred to as prey are generally hunted by bigger animals, although there are a number of exceptions....	Roots, Leaves, Berries
Predators: When an animal is referred to as a predator, it means that the animal either hunts or catches other animals. Predatory animals are generally dominant within their environment and will generally hunt animals smaller than...	Owl, Eagles, Wolves
Special Features:	Broad, stout body and toxic spikes